Latest Attack On Michelle Obama: She Went To Target

Right-wing media have attacked Michelle Obama for going shopping at Target, claiming she went " 'incognito,' Lady Gaga-style" and asking, "Who does she think she's fooling?" Right-wing media have previously attacked the first lady for everything from promoting health initiaitves to wearing a red dress at a state dinner.

Michelle Obama Visits Target ...

Michelle Obama shopping at Target Thursday. An AP photographer (small world!) happened upon the first lady at the Alexandria store, pushing a cart and carrying bags.

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Michelle Obama, center, with an unidentified aide -- we're assuming, anyway. Who else would be working two BlackBerrys at Target? [The Washington Post,9/29/11, emphasis original]

... And The Right-Wing Media Attack

Limbaugh: "It Has Gotten So Bad, They Had To Send Moochelle Out There In A Lady Gaga-Type Getup. She Went Shopping At Target." During the September 30 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show, Limbaugh said: "It has gotten so bad, they had to send Moochelle out there in a Lady Gaga-type getup. She went shopping at Target." [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show,9/30/11, via Media Matters]

Malkin: Obama Went To Target "About As 'Incognito' As Lady Gaga." In a September 29 blog post, Michelle Malkin attacked Obama for shopping at Target, writing that Obama was "about as 'incognito' as Lady Gaga's outfit at her younger sister's graduation." Malkin went on to call the first lady "the glamour queen" and further stated that Obama's Target visit was "[t]o counter the negative diva buzz" and that it "[l]ooks like she left the bling at home." [MichelleMalkin.com, 9/29/11, via Media Matters]

The Blaze: "What Luck!" Obama "Wasn't Snapped Without Make-Up, With Messy Hair Wearing Sweatpants To Do Her 'Everywoman' Shopping." A September 30 post on The Blaze stated:

Our First Lady has sooome luck. Not only is her hubby the leader of the free world, but just as the Obama camps [sic] is desperately looking for a way to relate to America's Average Joes, a staff photographer with the Associated Press just so happened to be there to document her recent Target shopping jaunt.

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What luck! Obama also wasn't snapped without make-up, with messy hair wearing sweatpants to do her "everywoman" shopping... like some of us who will remain nameless.

Exit question: I could see a quick stop in at the local Target store as something that might happen out on the campaign trail. But who really believes Michelle Obama left the White House to pop in at the Alexandria, Va., Target because the East Wing ran out of paper towels? [The Blaze, 9/30/11, emphasis in original]

Weasel Zippers: "Honestly, Who Does She Think She's Fooling?" A September 29 Weasel Zippers post titled, "Pic of the Day," stated, "See, Mooch is just like us!" and showed a photograph of the first lady at Target. The post went on to ask, "Honestly, who does she think she's fooling?" [Weasel Zippers, 9/29/11]

Beck And Co-Hosts Mock Obama For Going To Target. On his September 30 radio program, Glenn Beck and his co-hosts mocked Obama for going to Target and asked, "Did you see the agonizing photos of Michelle Obama as a Target shopper?" [Premiere Radio Networks, The Glenn Beck Program, 9/30/11]

Right-Wing Media Figures Have Consistently Attacked Michelle Obama

Right-Wing Lip Readers' Michelle Obama Derangement Syndrome. Following a ceremony on the 10th anniversary of 9-11, various right-wing blogs and The Washington Times claimed that Michelle Obama likely disparaged the American flag during a memorial ceremony. [Media Matters,9/14/11]

Washington Examiner Blamed Obama's "Let's Move!" Campaign For Pedestrian Deaths. A January Washington Examiner story claimed that the first lady's "Let's Move!" campaign could be linked to an increase in pedestrian deaths. The Washington Examiner article was later promoted by numerous right-wing media outlets. [Media Matters, 1/20/11]

Wash. Times: Michelle Obama "Doesn't Seem All That Happy With The Man She Married 19 Years Ago." In an August 28 Washington Times op-ed, Joseph Curl wrote that Michelle Obama "doesn't seem all that happy with the man she married 19 years ago." Curl also asked, "Man, how miserable is Michelle Obama?" [The Washington Times,8/29/11, via Media Matters]

The Blaze Claimed "Michelle Obama Might Have Taken The 'Happy' Out Of McDonald's Happy Meals." A July 26 post on The Blaze stated:

A child could once feel excitement over hearing a parent utter those beautiful words: "honey, we're going to McDonald's for a Happy Meal." But those carefree days are over and that sense of childhood wonderment and abandon is about to be seriously curbed by a new McDonald's policy that cuts an order of fries in half, throws apple slices, raisins and pineapple chunks around as if they were ketchup, and just generally makes Happy Meals "healthier," and, less happy. And even though the apples are reportedly not well-received by customers, guess what? McDonald's is forcing the fruit in its Happy Meals anyway. Whether you want it or not.

And what's more, politics, perhaps even the White House itself, could be to blame.

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So after all the years of satisfied customers "lovin' it," it is political pressure, including First Lady Michelle Obama's war on childhood obesity, that reportedly forced McDonald's hands.

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McDonald's: another casualty in the Nanny State's war on personal choice, or is the fast food giant bringing this on themselves? Will the new, and perhaps not improved, McDonald's menu affect your decision to patronize the long-time burger institution? [The Blaze, 7/26/11, via Media Matters]

For the truth about McDonald's decision to make its Happy Meals healthier, SEE HERE.

Right-Wing Media Spun "Help From The Media" Comment About Obama Children To Suggest Media Bias. The Drudge Report and Andrew Breitbart's Big Journalism both attacked Michelle Obama's statement during a CNN interview that "we have help from the media" to suggest media bias. Obama was actually thanking the media for respecting her children's privacy. [Media Matters, 6/25/11]

Right-Wing Media Attacked Obama's Dress Choice For State Dinner. Right-wing media attacked Obama for wearing a red dress to a White House state dinner, suggesting she did so to honor "Commie Red China." [Media Matters,1/20/11]

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On February 21, CNN will host a town hall on gun violence set to include a wide spectrum of people affected by the Parkland, FL, school shooting. The National Rifle Association was invited to participate and chose to send its national spokesperson, Dana Loesch, to join "students, parents and community members" at the event, breaking with its decision to not participate in a similar 2016 CNN town hall. The NRA’s decision to send Loesch, who is also a far-right conservative commentator with a long history of inflammatory rhetoric, to represent the organization in a town hall discussion about gun safety and legislation that includes survivors of a mass school shooting, clearly demonstrates the extremist, fringe views the NRA has embraced to advance its cause.